What are PDFs and how do you create themWhat is a PDF?
A. PDF is a universally accepted file format for saving page layouts and contents. The letters PDF stand for Portable Document Format.
Why would PDF be important to me?A. PDF is cross-platform, indexable, universally printable, universally viewable, secure and more compact than other document formats.CROSS-PLATFORM: PDF files can be created on one type of computer and read and printed on another. The file format is independent of the software, hardware, and the operating system used to create the file. In simple words; you can, for example, read a PDF document in Windows 98 that was created on a Macintosh that you downloaded from a web site running UNIX. INDEXABLE: PDF files can contain physical links to different parts of the document. This allows users to quickly jump about the document, from one part of the document to another, following a particular topic. Such links include jumps to specified pages within the document or externally, for example linking to pages on an external document across the internet. Another important type of link is the bookmark. These can be displayed in a window down the side of the document, where they act as contents pages. Thumbnails provide a useful method of searching for pictures and diagrams in a document.
UNIVERSALLY PRINTABLE: PDF files are based on the PostScript language imaging model. This enables sharp, colour-precise printing on almost all printers. Being PostScript based means that PDF files are an acceptable medium for supplying art work to print companies.
ULTRA-VIEWABLE: On computer screens PDF files have a precise colour match regardless of the monitor used. They allow the user to magnify documents up to 800% without loss of clarity in text or graphics.
SMALLER: PDF files are very compact. They can, for example, be 1/5 of the size of their HTML counterpart and in most cases will be similarly smaller than word processor or drawing package files.
What strengths do PDF files have on the internet?
A. All of the following, at least! Live URL links can be incorporated into documents.
PDF files have many of the same benefits as HTML documents in terms of being a compact medium for recreating graphically rich pages. They have the additional benefit that, unlike HTML documents, PDF files are not dependent on the author and the recipient having identical fonts and settings on their computers.
PDF files can be viewed within Netscape and Internet Explorer windows. They have the additional benefit over the HTML format that they can be saved for off-line viewing and printing.
PDF files can be byte served over the web to speed up access to large amounts of information. This process is similar to the process of streaming of video files, so you don't have to download the full file before you can use/view it. After grabbing the first part of data, page-on-demand continues to download the rest of the file. What this means is that a visitor to a website could read the first page and then jump immediately to the seventh page without having to wait!
Full-text search capabilities are available for PDF files.
PDF pages can be flexibly encrypted. For example, you can require a password to open and view the file but equally you could allow files to be opened and viewed but not copied from or printed without a password. This flexibility makes PDFs the ideal medium for publishing material on the Internet. You can allow people to view the document but charge them if they wish to print it out or copy from it. PDF files seal the gap that many developers find when they become frustrated creating content for the web. "I want it to look just like this! Why can't it look just like is does in Word, Pagemaker etc.? I know how to do it there!" Problem solved! Just send your beautiful creations to pdfFactory!
How do I create a PDF file?A. By printing to pdfFactory.Just download the shareware version of pdfFactory or pdfFactoryProfessional from the Downloads page on this website and install it on your computer. Then send any document to Print and select pdfFactory in the printer driver window. Press OK and go through to the pdfFactory preview window. Press SEND to instantly attach the PDF file to a new email, or press SAVE.
What is pdfFactory?A. pdfFactory is a printer driver which prints documents as PDF files.
pdfFactory sits on your computer as another printer driver. Any documents sent to Print with the pdfFactory printer driver selected will be converted into a PDF file. These pages can come from any source or any combination of sources. For example, you can send a cover page to pdfFactory from a drawing package, followed by a number of pages of text from a word processor and some tables from a spread-sheet package. These three jobs will be accumulated in pdfFactory as separate jobs. pdfFactory can insert blank pages between jobs if necessary. There is no limit to the size of the file you can create. pdfFactory will accumulate jobs until the PDF file is saved, sent or closed.
How do I protect my PDF file?A. With features contained in pdfFactoryProfessional.Under Security you can set security to be 40 bit or 128 bit encryption. 40 bit encryption will be accepted by Acrobat version 3 and newer, and 128 bit will be accepted by Acrobat 5 viewers and newer.
The categories of restriction that can be set are to deny the ability to... View document without this password Copy text and graphics from this document
Print the document Change the document
Add/change comments and form fields in the document
Can I incorporate bookmarks?A. You can with pdfFactoryProfessionalpdfFactoryProfessional has a powerful bookmark feature. The bookmark feature utilizes the bookmark pane in Adobe Acrobat Reader to make navigating documents easier. pdfFactoryProfessional has three bookmarks modes:
1. TABLE OF CONTENTS MODE: uses bookmarks to allow creation of complex tables of contents based on the text titles used in a document. This feature is similar to the table of contents feature found in Microsoft Word. pdfFactoryProfessional can generate a table of contents for any document based on the text styles within it.
2. JOB MODE: adds a bookmark for each print job in the PDF. This allows PDFs to be used as navigable generic document containers, similar in size and function to a ZIP file.
3. MANUAL MODE: allows bookmarks to be manually created by selecting the page to be bookmarked in the pdfFactory preview.
Do you do discounts for multiple orders?A. Yes.
The pricing system works in tiers, 2-14, 15-49, 50-249, etc. Prices can be seen by clicking on 'price list' in the right column. Alternatively for reseller prices or higher pricoing quantities contact us directly. See the Contacts menu. Registered users of pdfFactory may use the latest releases for FREE. Download the latest releases from this website. Just install over your current version and your registration will remain intact.
What operating systems does pdfFactory work with?A. pdfFactory works with all of the various Windows platforms.
Is pdfFactory widely used in business?A. Yes.
pdfFactory is sold worldwide in large volumes and to a very wide range of businesses. Its low cost makes it accessible to private individuals wanting a compact and predictable way of emailing documents to friends. The low cost also ensures that large businesses can afford to roll it out to the far corners of their empire!
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